The first Brazilian product for genomic assessment of dairy herds, whose aim is to select genetically superior animals, was announced on Tuesday (May 08). The service is named Clarifide Girolando and is aimed at such cattle breed, which results from crossing dairy Gyr and Holstein Friesian, and which is of great importance for national dairy farming. The solution is the fruit of a public-private partnership that involved Embrapa, the Brazilian Association of Girolando Cattle Breeders and the companies CRV Lagoa and Zoetis. According to Marcos Vinícius Barbosa da Silva, an Embrapa Dairy Cattle researcher, Clarifide is the result of six years of research in genomics, molecular genetics, and bioinformatics. “We have gathered what is most advanced in the knowledge of genomes and computational systems to assess the information from a chip with hundreds of thousands of data related to bovine DNA”, the scientist reports. The solution is already available in the market. Interested parties should contact Zoetis, if they are interested in making the genomic assessment of females. For the assessment of males, the accredited company is CRV Lagoa. The selection of superior animals for milk production systems is made from a sample of biological material that contains the animal's cells (see the comparison between the process of traditional breeding and the genomic assessment in the picture below). Collected genetic information is compared to the one available in Clarifide Girolando chip. As a result of this work, farmers receive a series of information regarding the animal, such as milk production and proteins, whether they bear genes that produce genetic disorders, reproductive capacity and other data required to have the process of herd breeding be effective. Traditional breeding X selection through genomic assessment Some countries have already abandoned traditional genetic improvement programs, investing in genomic selection. With Clarifide Girolando, Brazil has started to tread such path for such bovine breed. The advantages of selection through genomic assessment as opposed to the traditional one include lower cost of procedures and quicker results. Traditional breeding In traditional breeding, progeny tests allow individuals to be compared based on heifers' milk production: → The breeder selects the bull believed to be their best. → The bull is submitted to a pre-test for five months, when some criteria such as semen production and quality are evaluated. → Once approved in the pre-test, the bull becomes part of the progeny test per se. → Cows from several farms, which participate in the program, are inseminated with this bull's semen. →The bull's daughters are born, and grow, reproduce and start to produce milk. → At the end of the lactation, the cow's production is noted down. → The information of economic interest that is collected during this process is published in a summary, where the bull will be ranked. Genomic assessment In breeding through genomic assessment, the animals are selected according to the genetic heritage contained in their DNA: → The breeder selects the bull believed to be their best. → A sample of the bull's genetic material (blood) is collected and submitted to an accredited laboratory. →The breeder receives the bull's genomic value (a genetic profile for the animal). With such information, the bull may or may not be included in a breeding program. Obs.: the genomic selection can also be made with females and embryos. Selection before the animal is born Genomic assessment opens up major possibilities for herd improvement. For instance, it allows the animal to be selected before it is born. It is possible to remove a small sample (ten cells) of an embryo seven days after the in vitro fertilization and, through such few cells, analyze its entire genome. If the embryo has desirable traits, it is transferred to the (surrogate) cow that will gestate it. Otherwise it can be discarded. Besides saving time, this procedure optimizes surrogate mothers, as the cow will only gestate the best previously selected embryos. On top of the higher reliabity of the information, the coordinator of the Girolando Genetic Improvement Program (PMGG), Marcello Cembranelli points to the reduced timelength for animal assessments, with subsequent cost reduction, as Clarifide's greatest advantage. Currently, a bull's selection for the progeny test (process that indicates the best sires based on the traits of their daughters) costs about R$ 250,000. It is a long process, which can last about ten years. Clarifide Girolando optmizes it, as results are instantaneous and it is not necessary to evaluate the quality of the following generations to identify a good sire. The cost reduction allows smallholders and mid-sized farmers can enroll their animals in the progeny tests. Assuming that the breeder has several young bulls (potential sires) with the same level of kinship (full siblings), and that the breeder only has funds to sign up a single individual for the test, comparing each of their genotypes through Clarifide Girolando will define the young bull that is most suited to the program. “The introduction of genomic assessment in the breeding program democratizes opportunities for selection, as it allows a higher number of farmers to have access to the service”, Cembranelli declares, and anticipates: “There will be a leap in quality in the breeding program. That is why the Brazilian Association of Girolando Breeders invested in the research with its most precious asset: the database on production and pedigree. We are certain that the genomic assessment will be highly reliable and will be an important decision-making tool for our over 3,000 members all over the country”. For the farmer Guillermo Marquez, from the Santa Gertrudes Farm in Uberaba, Minas Gerais, genomic assessment seems an important resource for the process of animal selection. “Clarifide Girolando has come to give us more information and help us anticipate decisions, that is, we are going to have results from the selection process earlier. And that is of utmost importance to make the necessary changes to the herd, according to the farm's work plans. It is very important so that we can evolve and have better animals”, the dairy farmer underscores. Fruit of a public-private partnerships Clarifide Girolando is the result of a public-private partnership formed by Embrapa, the Brazilian Association of Girolando Cattle Breeders and two other companies: - Zoetis – A world leader in animal health, Zoetis used their experience in the genomics of other dairy and beef cattle breeds, such as Holstein-Friesian, Jersey, Brown Swiss, Nelore and Angus, in different countries. The company genotyped 5.600 animals evaluated during the research in their laboratory in the state of Michigan, United States. According to Cleocy Fam de Mendonça Júnior, Zoetis' product manager for Dairy Cattle, genomic assessment favors both large farms and smallholdings, thus democratizing genetics. “Clarifide Girolando is accessible to smallholders and this is an especially important factor at this moment when Brazilian cattle farming is undergoing transformations, reducing the number of properties and profitability margins. The scenario requires professionalization.” The company will have exclusive rights in the tests for the assessment of females. - CRV Lagoa – A part of CRV, a Belgian-Dutch breeding cooperative formed by 35,000 farmers, CRV Lagoa supplied the project with a lot of information from their headquarters, in the Netherlands, including data from Holstein bulls that are part of the Girolando crossings - which contributed to strengthen the entire process of developing the new technology. “We have also participated in market research that helped the association and Zoetis, supplying data so that Embrapa could generate all the information in the course of the process in the field, collecting information and making the use of the product increasingly more viable”, reports Cesar Franzon, CRV Lagoa's manager of Innovation and Herd. CRV Lagoa is going to work exclusively on testing males and will focus on the assessment of bulls that are candidates for the progeny tests, also considering bulls for natural mating and sires that are already involved in the insemination centers. Translation: Mariana Medeiros